I have a super smart neighbor that’s now retired. After competing in the Olympics in track, he became a college professor as is the quintessential deep thinker. He dropped the following sentence at church recently, which gave me pause:

“Most humans don’t want the truth—they want to be told they’re okay.”

He’s got a point. I’m not sure if “most” humans don’t want the truth, but I know I lot of them would rather be told (or delude themselves) into thinking they’re okay. Granted, I think most humans are okay, but I think this line of thinking prevents us from progressing at times, myself included.

What do you think: Do humans value acceptance more than truth? And are the two mutually exclusive?